Which of us couldn’t improve in our love walk?
Today I’m joining in with First Wild Card Tour to share about one of the latest books I read.
***Special thanks to Rick Roberson, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***
My Review:
Love is a topic Christians hear tossed about frequently. And quite often I Corinthians 13 is used as the basis of talks about loving others in the Biblical sense. Yet I don’t recall that familiar passage of scripture being used in William P. Smith’s Loving Well. Although that verse wasn’t used, Smith uses plenty of scriptures throughout the book and I Peter 1:18 serves as the building block to break us free from our empty-way of life toward building a foundation of love.
Smith reminds us that not only does Jesus serves as our model for authentic love but it is him, who empowers us to fulfill our mission to love. For me, the author provides a fresh perspective on love. Divided into three parts, the book delves into 15 types/characteristics of love such as forgiving, partnering, serving, welcoming, peaceful and hospital love. At times I found the book difficult to read not because it was not well written and biblical sound. Instead it was because I saw myself within the pages of this book. Challenged and convicted by how many times I have fallen short of loving well, I still walked away from the book with new insights and armed with practical ways to love better. By far this was one of the best books I have read on love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
William P. Smith, M.Div., Ph.D., is the director of counseling at Chelten Baptist Church, Dresher, Pa., the author of the book Caught Off Guard: Encounters with the Unexpected God; and the minibooks How Do I Stop Losing It with My Children?; How to Love Difficult People?; Should We Get Married?; Starting Over; When Bad Things Happen; and Who Should I Date?. Bill is regularly invited to speak at other churches and lead weekend retreats. He and his wife, Sally, are the parents of three very active children.
Visit the author’s website.
Distance. Resentment. Avoidance. You want to love your family, your neighbors, and your coworkers well. But something goes wrong when you reach out to them, and you find yourself tearing down the relationships you wanted to build. Are you doomed to repeat this cycle forever?
For most of us, certain unhealthy reactions feel natural and even inevitable. Unconsciously, we cling to what 1 Peter 1:18 calls the “empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers.”
But you are not doomed to repeat this cycle, according to William P. Smith, since Jesus came to redeem his people from such things. The destructive relationship patterns you learned before you met Christ no longer need to control how you live and interact with others. Instead, you can exchange the empty ways for new ones that promote deep unity and peacefulness—patterns that create satisfying and God-honoring relationships. A rich, practical relationship with Jesus enables you to develop rich, practical relationships with others in spite of your brokenness and theirs. Through Christ, you no longer have to do what you have always done. In short, you can learn to love well.
Product Details:
List Price: $15.99
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: New Growth Press (February 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936768291
ISBN-13: 978-1936768295
If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Disclosure: I was provided a complimentary copy by The B&B Media Group as part of the First Wild Card Blog Tour.
Cynthia says
Wanda,
One thing is for sure: We have all placed our feet in our mouths, regarding relationships. And, one of the hardest things for me to do is apologize to my kids and husband. But, you know what? I have apologized. And, you know what? My kids and husband have learned to apologize, too. Because of this, all of us are closer and able to accept the shortcomings of the other. We know that our home, our family, is a safe place to be. This is hard work–developing this “safe-place”. It is a day-by-day process that I have learned to embrace and take very seriously. Our words can give life or death and I am working toward more life. All of this is possible through my Lord, who shows me how to love better, every day. Thank you, for this post. You are a blessing to me. ~Cynthia
Wanda says
Definitely Cynthia we have all had more than once said something we regretted. Yes God empowers us to live life better than our natural tendencies. I like that you said you all are learning to apologize to one another. For it’s often our families that gets the worse of us at times. Thank you so much for stopping by Cynthia. Hope you have a great week.
LaVonne says
Wanda, the importance of sincere love has become a theme in the lives of my friends, and we are finding power and truth of “we are nothing without love”. May our love always increase and grow and overflow.
Wanda says
If we all could just really fully grasp that concept, the world would be a much different place. I’m aiming to love those around me better.